The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod opens its latest round of grant funding Wednesday, Sept. 15.
Interested applications must submit a Letter of Intent, which will be available on the AFCC’s website, www.artsfoundation.org. The letters will be due Friday, Oct. 15.
A select group of applicants will be asked to submit a full application, which will be due Oct. 29. Final awards will be announced in late November.
Individual grants will range in size, from $500 to $5,000, and will be awarded to either individuals who live and work in Barnstable County; nonprofits in Barnstable County; or educational institutions in Barnstable County.
Funding will be prioritized towards projects, entities, or programs which align with the AFCC’s vision to fuel culture, innovation, economic growth, and involvement in the arts community. This includes programs that introduce new ideas while building upon what is known to benefit the community; projects which create greater opportunities for artists on the Cape; and proposals that expand arts access throughout the region while supporting cultural appreciation and inclusivity.
The AFCC cannot accept applications for projects that plan to commence within six weeks of the grant deadline.
Over the past five years, the AFCC has steadily increased the total amount it has awarded through its annual grant funding. In 2016, it awarded $25,000 to 18 nonprofits, a figure that was more than tripled last year when the AFCC awarded $81,000 to 80 individual artists and 16 nonprofits.
“We plan to meet and hopefully exceed that amount this year,” said AFCC Executive Director Julie Wake. “Based on last year, when we received 52 applications from cultural nonprofits seeking nearly $225,000, we know the need is significantly greater, which is why this round of grant funding is so critical to our region’s creative economy.”
Along with this latest round of grants, the AFCC is convening a meeting with the region’s legislative delegation and local leaders of cultural nonprofits this week to push for expanded funding, support, and resources at the federal and state levels of the Cape’s arts sector.
In June, the COVID-19 Cultural Impact Commission submitted its final report, calling on the state to use $575 million of the roughly $5.3 billion the state government received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support the arts and cultural sector.
It’s funding that, Wake said, is sorely needed in our region where multiple cultural organizations reported losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“Federal and state investment in the arts, throughout the state and here on Cape Cod, is a necessity, especially if we want it to remain a vital fabric of our community,” Wake said. “It’s why we’ve worked so closely with our legislative delegation which has been incredibly supportive of arts and culture because they understand it’s integral to the Cape’s identity and a major driver of the Cape’s economy.”
